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From brokenness to joyhttps://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/12/17/from-brokenness-to-joy/
https://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/12/17/from-brokenness-to-joy/#commentsMon, 17 Dec 2018 13:00:13 +0000http://melwild.wordpress.com/?p=31724Continue reading →]]>How would you define brokenness? I’m talking about the emotional or relational kind. I thought about this when I read Insanitybytes22’s (“IB”) post, “Rewire Ye Olde Hardware.” If you haven’t read it already, you should go there and read what she says. It’s very good. But, along with how we define brokenness, I ask, aren’t we all broken somewhere?

We only have to peruse social media and the news channels to see how easily offended and churlish and polarized we’ve become, and just how ubiquitous this brokenness actually is in our society. What I’m talking about is so deeply entrenched in us that even the thought of being called “broken” is offensive for most of us. It’s too easy to identify brokenness in others’ addictions, pain, depression, abusive behavior, and other mental disorders, and be totally oblivious to our own dysfunctions. IB brings up a great point about this.

“If you are like me, you may not even be aware you are a broken-hearted captive. I’m a real survivor and a stoic, and also a caregiver, so like you know, we ain’t got no time for these problems, and we’ll tend to run a bit like the energizer bunny until we finally just faceplant, depleted and broken.”

What she’s describing is one very common version of brokenness that we call “normal” in our individualistic performance-driven world. Most of us are not even aware of it because it’s the fishbowl we’ve been swimming in. And that’s what makes these subtle forms so insidious and potentially toxic. Left “unrenewed,” they raises their ugly head in times of crisis or conflict.

I’ve not only seen this ugliness within myself with all my own issues of rejection and abandonment, going from passive to passive aggressive, and back again, but I’ve pretty much had it modeled for me in leaders over the last forty-plus years of my professional career. Let me briefly share this trajectory with you.

When I was in college I had a psychology professor who threw tantrums whenever we weren’t responding to her as we ought (where I learned the meaning of “physician heal thyself!), I’ve had bosses you would never dare question because you would incur their wrath. It was the proverbial “my way or the highway” environment. No joy in that world! I’ve sat in very awkward executive boardroom meetings where everyone in the room was on pins and needles because there was one director who could not control his temper. It was like sitting next to an active volcano! It made us very ineffective as leaders because the elephant in the room could not be addressed without much pain and conflict.

When I left the corporate world to become a full-time pastor, I saw the same “normal’s” manifest at church leadership meetings over the years. We once had a leader who thought anger was a virtue and would fly into a rage whenever he didn’t get his way on an issue that was important to him. People like this manipulate and hold everyone else hostage with threats and withdrawal of support.

When are we ever going to learn that anger and manipulation aren’t good leadership qualities? It only reveals a very fragile relational immaturity. It also exposes our fear-based thinking by our response to this aggressive behavior.

Of course, everyone understands these overt signs of brokenness. But don’t we all have some of this lurking deep beneath the “civilized self” we wish to project to the world? If you’ve seen the movie, “Anger Management,” you’ll understand what I’m trying to say.

So what does relational maturity look like? Relational maturity looks like a soul at rest under all circumstances. In other words, you’re the same person when things are going well and when all hell is breaking loose in your life. Your demeanor creates an environment of calm in the midst of the storm. Paul describes this wholeness as the fruit of the Spirit.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Gal.5:22-23 NET)

First, notice that love and joy are prominent here. I think you could say that all of these attributes spring from a heart that’s secure in the knowledge that they’re loved and, therefore, know how to love.

Also notice what’s not on the list. For instance, outbursts of anger is actually on the other list. This one describes a life of self-indulgence motivated by fear and insecurity.

19 The cravings of the self-life are obvious: Sexual immorality, lustful thoughts, pornography, 20 chasing after things instead of God,manipulating others, hatred of those who get in your way, senseless arguments, resentment when others are favored, temper tantrums, angry quarrels, only thinking of yourself, being in love with your own opinions, 21 being envious of the blessings of others, murder, uncontrolled addictions, wild parties, and all other similar behavior. (Gal.5:19-21a TPT)

Paul said these are obvious. But are they obvious to us? What does that say about this fishbowl we’ve been swimming in? To me, it says that when we cannot find joy we will look for the counterfeits in order to find pleasure and peace in some dysfunctional way.

But, as I said last time, the good news is that this part of our brain can be re-wired, or reformed. And where our “joy center” resides is the only part of our brain that controls the more primitive emotions that are ready to pounce within us.

In Why we should always be thankful, I said we actually grow in our capacity to be at rest under all circumstances by activating joy whenever we go through difficulties in this life. This is James’ point:

2 My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can!3 For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up power within you to endure all things. 4 And then as your endurance grows even stronger it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking. (James 1:2-4 TPT, emphasis added)

This cultivated rest which produces joy and peace within us creates an atmosphere that frees everyone around us from some of the fear that binds them. These are the relational qualities that should be admired and sought out in leaders…in everyone. Imagine what our world would be like if they were. Some would say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.

]]>https://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/12/17/from-brokenness-to-joy/feed/13melwildJoy frees us from our counterfeit selfhttps://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/12/14/joy-frees-us-from-our-counterfeit-self/
https://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/12/14/joy-frees-us-from-our-counterfeit-self/#commentsFri, 14 Dec 2018 13:00:55 +0000http://melwild.wordpress.com/?p=31695Continue reading →]]>When we don’t find joy and bliss from our relationships we will look for it in counterfeits and live from fear rather than love. These counterfeits can show up in addictions and looking for love in all the wrong places, but a more subtle form can also show up in pouring ourselves into our work, obsessing over sports, politics, entertainment, even obsessing over good things like our children.

I took a brief look at how the brain is effected in the first 18-24 months as the mother bonds with the child through smell, taste, temperature regulation, touch, visual, and voice tone. This bonding is how our “joy center” gets hard-wired into the brain. The following is from a 2017 study done at Northwestern University:

“The infant brain is very different from the mature adult brain — it is not fully formed….Infants are completely dependent on their caregivers. Whether they get enough to eat, the right kind of nutrients, whether they’re kept warm or cool enough, whether they’re hugged enough and get enough social attention, all these things are important to normal brain development. Our study shows clearly that a biological process in one person’s brain, the mother’s, is linked to behavior that gives the child the social input that will help wire his or her brain normally. That means parents’ ability to keep their infants cared for leads to optimal brain development, which over the years results in better adult health and greater productivity.”

The article goes on to say how this joyful bonding stimulates the neurotransmitter, dopamine, in our brain:

“We found that social affiliation is a potent stimulator of dopamine,” says Barrett. “This link implies that strong social relationships have the potential to improve your outcome if you have a disease, such as depression, where dopamine is compromised. We already know that people deal with illness better when they have a strong social network. What our study suggests is that caring for others, not just receiving caring, may have the ability to increase your dopamine levels.”

Dopamine “plays a major role in reward-motivated behavior. The anticipation of most types of rewards increases the level of dopamine in the brain, and many addictive drugs increase dopamine release….” (from Wikipedia)

When we don’t have a healthy joy center our “reward-motivation” will manifest in unhealthy ways, through fear and manipulation, bringing our brokenness into all of our relationships—our marriage, parenting, family, and with coworkers. Oftentimes, this dysfunctional cycle gets repeated from generation to generation.

My point in all of this is that I believe the answer to living free from bondage is not found by trying harder (left-brain activity), it’s found by growing our capacity to experience joy (right-brain). As Dr. Jim Wilder said about our brokenness:

“Deeply wounded people only heal in community, and only when that community is based in love and joy. But, sadly, most have come from relationships built on fear.” (from “Developing Joy Strength“)

The good news is, this part of our brain can be rewired and we can grow our joy capacity, but it requires that we repent (re-form) by having our minds renewed (Rom.12:2), put on the potter’s wheel, if you will, to be reshaped for love and joy instead of fear and control. This is how we heal in a community culture based in love.

This is also the purpose of the local church through which Jesus ministers to the world (Matt.16:18-19; John 20:21; Eph.4:11-16). Sadly, this is often not the case with many local churches. Fear-based manipulation and control by the leaders and even congregations only make belonging to them less joyful and even hurtful. This is why this reformation is also needed at a church level because Jesus intends on building His Church in the context of this grace-based community, not by individuals in isolation, and He hasn’t changed His mind about this just because we had a bad experience with organized church in the past.

Beloved, Jesus’ ministry (see Luke 4:18-21) is our joyous ministry. And, if we will let Him, He will turn our sorrow into joy, and then we can help others return to joy through Him!

When we learn to live from joy we can finally be our authentic selves at the deepest level of our being and, thereby, live free from all the counterfeits.

The Sovereign Lord has filled me with his Spirit.He has chosen me and sent meTo bring good news to the poor,To heal the broken-hearted,To announce release to captivesAnd freedom to those in prison.2 He has sent me to proclaimThat the time has comeWhen the Lord will save his peopleAnd defeat their enemies.He has sent me to comfort all who mourn,3 To give to those who mourn in ZionJoy and gladness instead of grief,A song of praise instead of sorrow.They will be like treesThat the Lord himself has planted.They will all do what is right,And God will be praised for what he has done.4 They will rebuild cities that have long been in ruins. (Isa.61:1-4 GNT)

]]>https://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/12/14/joy-frees-us-from-our-counterfeit-self/feed/7melwildJoy must be experiencedhttps://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/12/11/joy-must-be-experienced/
https://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/12/11/joy-must-be-experienced/#commentsTue, 11 Dec 2018 13:00:52 +0000http://melwild.wordpress.com/?p=31663Continue reading →]]>Here’s the crazy thing. I’m using words to explain something that’s non-verbal. I’m talking about joy. Our “joy center” or joy receptor, if you will, resides in the right side of our brain (technically, the right orbital prefrontal cortex), which is the non-verbal part. Words may lead us to joy, but joy itself can only be experienced.

Where we experience joy, where our brain thinks about what is “me,” is not formed at birth. This part of the brain gets developed during the first 24 months of the baby’s bonding process as the mother bonds with the child through smell, taste, temperature regulation, touch, visual, voice tone, which are all non-verbal. As Dr. Wilder said in his lecture “Developing Joy Strength“:

“All of this is interpreted on the right side of the brain. And words are interpreted on the left side of the brain. If you’ve ever heard someone say to you, “It wasn’t what you said but the tone of your voice…”, what they are saying is that our voice tone didn’t make them feel that you were glad to be with them. Bonding is based on voice tone (or sparkle in our eye), not on words. This is the only thing that motivates children under one year old. This is the difference between the left and right brain interpretation.”

You’ve probably heard about studies done concluding that most communication is non-verbal. The popular figure quoted is that 93% of communication is non-verbal. Regardless of the actual number, these studies, along with our understanding of where joy effects the brain, made me think about how God usually communicates with me. It’s usually a split-second impression of inspiration which I will attempt to put words to afterward, oftentimes very inadequately.

So, I wonder, did God actually download words into my verbal left-brain or did He simply impress something in my right-brain “joy center” and I attempted to use words to describe the experience after the fact? I would say upon reflection that the latter oftentimes seems more true. Now, I believe God can use actual words to communicate with us, but I think the deepest and most inspirational things are non-verbal because our identity and joy centers are much deeper and non-verbal in nature (more on that next time). As the psalmist tells us….

11 You make known to me the path of life;you will fill me with joy in your presence,with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (Psalm 16:11 NIV)

This is also why the Bible text cannot simply be read to be properly understood. We must undergo Scripture. In other words, we let the Bible study us by applying it to our hearts which is brings about revelation and leads to our transformation.

6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Cor.4:6 NKJV)

So, my point is this: joy must be experienced. You will not know the fullness of joy and pleasure found in the presence of the Lord unless you’ve actually opened your heart to the possibility and pursued it until it becomes your experience. As Paul said, it’s with the heart one believes. It’s only afterward that we use words to confess what we already know to be true.

10 The heart that believes in him receives the gift of the righteousness of God—and then the mouth gives thanks to salvation. (Rom.10:10 TPT)

]]>https://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/12/11/joy-must-be-experienced/feed/9melwildThe good news that brings great joyhttps://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/12/07/the-good-news-that-brings-great-joy/
https://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/12/07/the-good-news-that-brings-great-joy/#commentsFri, 07 Dec 2018 13:00:55 +0000http://melwild.wordpress.com/?p=31647Continue reading →]]>The gospel has been defined as “the good news that brings great joy.” I think it would be good to ask, “What exactly is the good news that brings great joy?” As evangelical Christians we might be tempted to blurt out that our sins are forgiven so we can go to heaven. While this is certainly good news, it’s not necessary news that bring great joy.

We’re very glad when we first give our heart to Jesus, but I would say this is more about hope than joy. In other words, we’re confident that God will keep His promise to save us if we will trust Him. We’re certainly happy, but it, by itself, will not sustain great joy.

And there’s a potential problem with this definition. We may have come to salvation through fear and not love. I don’t want to go to hell, or go through the tribulation, fill in the blank…. So I accepted Jesus as my Savior from something.

But Jesus didn’t just save us from something, He saved us for something. The former is the means, the latter is the much greater ends. Actually, when we finally get a glimpse of it, there’s no comparison.

For freedom is another reason given. We’ve been set free from fear, shame, sin and death, from bondage to Satan…freed from living a wasted life that ends with our last breath and we’re gone. We’re not who we were before; we’re a new creation in Christ. Old things have passed away! This is also good news. It’s a lifelong journey of discovery of our identity and purpose in Christ. But even this doesn’t give us great joy.

If you remember from the previous posts in this series, joy is primarily relational, not transactional. God is not an ATM machine and great joy doesn’t pop out in piles because we said a prayer and inserted our “go to heaven” card, or even because we can now live an overcoming life and do great Kingdom things for God. While these are all awesome and praiseworthy, they are not the source of great joy.

No, the only reason heaven is heaven is because of who’s there, and freedom is only freedom because of where we are. It’s not just what God did for us on the Cross, or even what He did as us, but also what He did to us.

If then you wereraised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Col.3:1-3 *)

This is where we find eternal life. It’s not in a place called heaven, it’s found in a Person, or should I say, in a Godhead.

3 Andthis is eternal life, that they may know You,the only true God, and Jesus Christwhom You have sent. (John 17:3 *)

Eternal life is God’s infinite, fully actualized, self-existent, outside of space and time…life. And we’ve been placed into His life in Christ. Which means, we can now begin to experience God’s life that has no beginning or end, sadness, sorrow, disappointment, good-bye’s, or any such thing like being alone or forgotten or without great value. We can experience pure joy, even in the worst of this brief life’s circumstances, because we’ve been placed in Infinite Joy Himself…right now, tomorrow, and forever. As I said last time, this was John’s invitation to us.

3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. (1 John 1:3-4 *)

Beloved, that’s what makes this news bring great joy. It brings great joy simply because Joy is a person, and He lives in you and me, and we live in Him. As I’ve been trying to say here, this is how we live from joy. If you haven’t already, hopefully you’re starting to see it now.

11 You will show me the path of life;In Your presence is fullness of joy;At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11 *)

* New King James Bible translation. All emphasis added.

]]>https://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/12/07/the-good-news-that-brings-great-joy/feed/22melwildWhy religion won’t bring us joyhttps://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/12/04/why-religion-wont-bring-us-joy/
https://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/12/04/why-religion-wont-bring-us-joy/#commentsTue, 04 Dec 2018 13:00:40 +0000http://melwild.wordpress.com/?p=31619Continue reading →]]>I’ve shared before that religion is about us inviting God into our life; following Jesus is about Him inviting us into His life. I’m using the term “religion” rather narrowly here. I’m talking about ritualistic practices we follow in our attempt to make ourselves right with God. Here are just a few reasons I think we should leave this kind of religion to follow Christ which leads to pure joy:

Religion is about putting our trust in our performance; following Christ is about putting our trust in His performance.

Religion is about following rituals; following Christ is about relationship.

Religion is about appeasement; following Christ is about believing Him instead.

Religion is about compliance; following Christ is about transformation.

Religion focuses on who we’re not; following Christ is about who we are in the “I am.”

Religion is restrictive; following Christ brings real freedom.

Religion uses shame and guilt to control; following Christ is compelled by love.

Religion envisions a distant, separated, conditionally loving, and demanding god; following Christ is encountering an intimate and unconditionally loving God.

I don’t have a problem with religious people finding comfort in their ritualistic observances…the problem is, these things won’t bring us joy. And the gospel is the good news that brings great joy.

We experience joy whenever we’re with those we know are glad we’re here…and the first person we need to know that about is God! The truth is, God has always wanted to be with us. If we will accept it, we bring Him delight and great pleasure. He wants to be with us a lot more than we want to be with Him. Here are just a couple examples:

The Lord your God is with you;his power gives you victory.The Lord will take delight in you,and in his love he will give you new life.He will sing and be joyful over you (Zeph. 3:17 GNT*)

5–6 For it was always in his perfect plan to adopt us as his delightful children, through our union with Jesus, the Anointed One, so that his tremendous love that cascades over us would glorify his grace—for the same love he has for his Beloved One, Jesus, he has for us. And this unfolding plan brings him great pleasure! (Eph.1:5-6 TPT*)

God delights in us and His desire is for us. He has pulled out all the stops to be with us forever, and when we accept the invitation to participate in His infinite love, and live from that place, our joy receptors go into overload!

9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love….11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! (John 15:9, 11 NLT*)

3 This is the life we have seen and heard. We are reporting about it to you also so that you, too, can have a relationship with us. Our relationship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.4 We are writing this so that we can be completely filled with joy. (1 John 1:3-4 GW*)

Beloved, whatever you think you need to be doing to gain God’s acceptance, please stop and just accept the invitation into His life instead.

Religion burns us out and slowly drains the life out of us. But when we finally encounter Love that invaded our broken world, we become fully alive and be filled with His joy, which makes our joy overflow out from us to our all our relationships. In other words, joy to the world!

28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matt.11:28-30 MSG)

Here’s a song by Housefires called “Joy” that I thought was appropriate to go with my series of posts on “Living from joy.” En-joy!

3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. (1 John 1:3-4 NKJV)

]]>https://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/12/02/you-give-me-joy/feed/0melwildLiving from Joyhttps://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/11/29/living-from-joy/
https://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/11/29/living-from-joy/#commentsThu, 29 Nov 2018 13:00:29 +0000http://melwild.wordpress.com/?p=31591Continue reading →]]>Last time I mentioned that joy is found in relationships. You might wonder why this is so. First, psychologically speaking, as Dr. Wilder points out in the video clip, we bond at a very early age. It happens in the first 24 months as the mother bonds with the child, through smell, taste, touch, visual, and voice tone. This bonding process creates a sense of joy and gladness in the child and gets hard-wired into the brain.

Dr. Wilder also says that the potential of all sorts of psychological issues can develop in the child, even forming negative personality traits, when a healthy bonding process doesn’t happen. There’s also an interesting article in Science Daily (found here) about this, based on a study done by Northwestern University.

Biblically speaking, our source of joy is found in God’s presence.

You will show me the path of life;In Your presence is fullness of joy;At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11 *)

As I said last time, God pulled out all the stops by sending His Son so that we could “bond” with Him forever. This bonding process is possible through the indwelling Holy Spirit given to us. And the fruit of this bonding is as follows:

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Gal.5:22-23 NET)

This “fruit” describes a fully satisfied and contented soul at rest. What’s interesting to me about this bonding with Holy Spirit is that some of these attributes are similar to that of healthy bonding between a baby and mother in those critical first months.

So, how does this process work? How do we live from this joy? I believe that Jesus tells us in John’s gospel:

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. (John 15:9-12 NIV *)

Before we get into this, I really like how the Message and Phillips Bibles translate verse 9:

“I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. (John 15:9 MSG *)

“I have loved you just as the Father has loved me. You must go on living in my love. (John 15:9 PHILLIPS *)

We can break this passage down into the following points:

Jesus loves us exactly the same as the Father loves Him (vs.9). How much does the Father love Jesus? That’s how much God loves you.

We are told to remain, live, make our home in this love. Notice all that’s required is that we receive and live in God’s infinite love for us. (vs.9)

Jesus obeyed the Father’s command by remaining in His love and loving us with the same love He received from His Father. (vs. 10)

We will experience fullness of joy when we obey Jesus’ command, which is to remain in God’s love and love each other with the same love we’ve received from God. (vs.10-12)

Let me emphasize that obedience to Jesus is defined by other-centered, self-giving love. We first receive and love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, then we go and love others with this same love. When we live our lives from this place, everything that God has ever wanted from us, from Genesis to Revelation, is automatically fulfilled (Matt.22:37-40).

This is exactly how God loves us. And the result is that we begin to experience God’s own joy, which results in our hearts overflowing with gladness.

11 My purpose for telling you these things is so that the joy that I experience will fill your hearts with overflowing gladness! (John 15:11 TPT *)

Joy starts and ends with love, and this other-centered love is, by definition, relational. This is how we live from joy. Remember, joy does not depend on our circumstances, good or bad. We can have “pure joy” in the midst of very difficult times (James 1:2).

I truly believe this is the key to a life fully lived (and loved). And, as Warner and Wilder say in their book (Rare Leadership), we grow in maturity by growing our ability to experience joy. What this looks like is that I act like the same person, loving others and expressing the fruit of the Spirit (Gal.5:22-23), regardless of my circumstances, good or bad, and regardless of how others treat me. I begin to look and act like Jesus.

* New King James Bible translation unless otherwise noted. All emphasis added.

]]>https://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/11/29/living-from-joy/feed/12melwildIntroduction to Joyhttps://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/11/27/introduction-to-joy/
https://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/11/27/introduction-to-joy/#commentsTue, 27 Nov 2018 13:00:27 +0000http://melwild.wordpress.com/?p=31562Continue reading →]]>We were made for joy. And joy is found in relationship. As Marcus Warner and Dr. Jim Wilder says (“Rare Leadership“), when we can be our authentic selves we live from joy. Conversely, when we’re trying to live up to other people’s expectations, or from our own wounded soul, we’re operating from our counterfeit self. This is living from fear or anxiety.

By the way, Dr. Wilder gives a fascinating presentation on the brain science behind joy here that you might find interesting. He explains it in laymen’s terms so it’s not not hard to follow.

Joy satisfies the two heart questions that haunts us in the deepest part of our soul: “Am I alone?” and “Do I matter?” God answers these deepest longings loud and clear with the incarnation of Christ!

Joy Comes To the World!

We all know this passage very well because we usually read it during Christmas, but try reading it this time with fresh eyes. Imagine the following scene taking place.

8-12 There were some shepherds living in the same part of the country, keeping guard throughout the night over their flocks in the open fields. Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood by their side, the splendour of the Lord blazed around them, and they were terror-stricken. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! Listen, I bring you glorious news of great joy which is for all the people. This very day, in David’s town, a Saviour has been born for you. He is Christ, the Lord. Let this prove it to you: you will find a baby, wrapped up and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:8-12 PHILLIPS)

What the angel was declaring is that this infinite invisible God was coming down to them.

Joy has come into the world!

Throughout all human history, God was often interpreted as angry, distant, and demanding—someone you had to appease to stay his wrath. Other than through periodic divine revelation, one could only speculate on what God was actually like. After all, to use C.S. Lewis’s analogy, it would be a bit like Hamlet trying to know Shakespeare.

But now God Himself was coming to us to make Himself known (John 1:14; 18), and humankind was about to find out that God is love, which means that He is about other-centered, self-giving love demonstrated by Jesus’ life and teachings.

What is this great joy? As I shared last time, joy is not the same thing as happiness, which is circumstantially driven. You can be happy by yourself but joy requires relationship.

Joy is the feeling of pleasure or elation experienced when we’re with people who are very glad to be with us. We usually experience it when we’re with people we deeply love. Being in love is a profound form of joy.

We were wired this way because the ultimate source of joy and pleasure is found in God’s presence (Psalm 16:11), and God has pulled out all the stops to make sure we will always be with Him so our lives could be filled with joy.

“Glory to God in highest. And peace on earth among people good-will.” (Literal rendering)

When we strip away the inserted words added to the text for clarity (but often biased), it simply says that God has determined to arbitrarily make peace and demonstrate His desire for our highest good. He showed us this by sending His Son into the world to reconcile us to Himself (1 Cor.5:19 – notice that God is not the one who needs reconciling!)

God has declared His intentions toward us. With the incarnation of Christ, and then by giving us His indwelling Spirit, He has determined we will never be alone again!

“for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] “(Heb.13:5b AMP)

Good-will is God’s kind of love

The word for “good-will” is εὐδοκία (eudokia), which means: favor, good pleasure, purpose, intention, desire to do good. This is very similar to the Greek word for God’s love which is ἀγάπη (agapē) and means: good will, favor, benevolence. Joy is found in this other-centered good-will because God is love.

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8 NIV)

So when we talk about joy we’re really talking about the pleasure we derive from this other-centered, self-giving love experienced in relationship. This is why selfish people can be happy but they rarely experience true joy. But when we open our hearts and let go of our fear-based insecurities and distrust and begin to appreciate and even love others as they truly are in God’s estimation, relationships can be built from joy.

More on that next time…

]]>https://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/11/27/introduction-to-joy/feed/8melwildWhy we should always be thankfulhttps://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/11/21/why-we-should-always-be-thankful/
https://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/11/21/why-we-should-always-be-thankful/#commentsWed, 21 Nov 2018 13:00:48 +0000http://melwild.wordpress.com/?p=31535Continue reading →]]>Since it’s Thanksgiving holiday this week (in the US), here’s a good message (video clip below) by Bill Johnson about the virtue of thankfulness. I want share some things from that clip and add my own thoughts about why we should be thankful in all situations.

Most people are thankful for the good things in their lives: family, friends, a good job, a roof over your head…but are we always thankful, even when things aren’t going so well? For we are told to always be thankful, even rejoice, in all situations which would necessarily include the bad things.

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thess.5:16-18 *)

Now, God probably wouldn’t have to tell us this if it came naturally! What’s more natural for us goes something like…Rejoice always? In everything give thanks? Is God kidding? What about when we’ve lost our job, even lost a loved one, what if there’s nothing to be joyful about or thankful for?

We don’t like hearing this but it’s the difficult times, even times of suffering, where we grow in strength and maturity the most. This is why we need a paradigm shift in how we see difficulties because being driven by our circumstances is a powerless and superficial way to live.

One problem is, we tend to confuse happiness with joy. Happiness is totally based on your circumstances. If things are going well, you’re happy…if not, you’re not. But joy comes from within. Joy is a sense of well-being in spite of your circumstances. Joy is possible when you’ve lost everything. Joy comes from God.

You will show me the path of life;In Your presence is fullness of joy;At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11 *)

When we turn our focus from ourselves to God we begin to see things in a new light…from heavenly places with fullness of joy.

But unlike spiritual gifts, thankfulness cannot be imparted to us. As Johnson says, making good choices in the face of adversity is how we develop this virtue:

“The good choices we make in life are where the “muscle” of integrity and character is developed. Whenever the Lord brings something up, it’s never to shame, never to mock or condemn, it’s an invitation to come into Christ, come into a place of greater strength.” (Bill Johnson, “The Virtue of Thankfulness”)

I’m a powerful person when I choose joy because joy is always within reach. Joy is part of the Kingdom, so it’s always at hand (Rom.14:17).

James tells us the same thing:

2 My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can! 3 For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up power within you to endure all things. 4 And then as your endurance grows even stronger it will release perfection [full maturity] into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking. (James 1:2-4 TPT *)

Thankfulness is a virtue that transforms our lives and helps us walk in all the fullness that God has intended for us.

Conversely, not being thankful leads to weak and darkened thinking.

21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish heartswere darkened. (Rom.1:21 *)

This is why it’s critically important that we guard our heart because our outlook on things determines the course of our life (Prov.4:23).

Beloved, Jesus said in this world we will have troubles, but not to fear because He has overcome them (John 16:33). So I can navigate trials with thankfulness because I have His peace and joy while knowing the perfecting work it’s producing in me.

Thanksgiving is the gateway to God’s realm (Psalm 100:1-5). When we choose thankfulness, we begin to see things in His light, from His perspective, which sharpens our focus in the process.

So we should always be thankful, even in the face of bad news and suffering. We’re not thankful FOR problems or bad reports; we’re thankful because the outcome produces mature sons and daughters He can trust who’ve left the superficiality of circumstantially-driven lives and can now more effectively partner with Him on the earth.

I agree with Johnson when he says, “Difficulties are opportunities to monitor my heart, to give thanks in all things, rejoice in all things, pray in every situation in absolute dependency on Him. Why? This is what we were born for.”

To all in the US, have a blessed Thanksgiving holiday.

* New King James Bible translation unless otherwise noted. All emphasis and brackets added.

]]>https://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/11/21/why-we-should-always-be-thankful/feed/8melwildWhen I heard God’s voicehttps://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/11/16/when-i-heard-gods-voice/
https://melwild.wordpress.com/2018/11/16/when-i-heard-gods-voice/#commentsFri, 16 Nov 2018 13:00:26 +0000http://melwild.wordpress.com/?p=31495Continue reading →]]>I still remember the time in 1982 when I realized that I was hearing God speak to me for the first time. It was quite unintentional and surprising. Understand that I wasn’t the type that thought everyone who said they heard God was credible. I was actually quite skeptical at the time.

It happened at a meeting we were attending. It was a small independent Charismatic church plant that my brother-in-law had invited my wife and me to. We had been going for a few weeks at the time and on this particular evening during the worship as I was deep in thought, rocking my newborn son to the music, all of a sudden a lady next to us stood up and gave a prophetic word. Now, that wasn’t what was shocking to my neophyte ears. It was that she was saying, almost verbatim, what I thought I was thinking! I just stared at her. How could this be? At first I thought she must be a mind-reader or have ESP or something crazy like that. I had never experienced anything like that before.

But then it dawned on me. God had been speaking to me and He was using my inner-voice to do so. I don’t think I heard a word the pastor said for the rest of the night. I just sat there pondering what had just happened.

Of course, this shouldn’t have been surprising to me. Even though I was still pretty ignorant about the Bible at the time, I knew enough to know that Jesus said His sheep would hear His voice. Did He really mean this?

2 The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The doorkeeper opens the door for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought all his own sheep out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. 5 They will never follow a stranger, but will run away from him, because they do not recognize the stranger’s voice.” (John 10:2-5 NET)

I’ve been to Israel a couple of times now and have marveled at how the Bedouin shepherds lovingly work with their sheep. I shared a story here where Jesus’ analogy of sheep only following their shepherd’s voice was actually witnessed by a pastor named Griffiths Thomas.

Back to that night in 1982, this initial encounter was life-changing for me. I had believed in God before, but now He was no longer some distant God of the Bible. I now knew that He knew me personally and was speaking to me, and so I began to want to know Him more intimately. I’ve been on that wondrous adventure ever since. What’s funny is even when I went through a time where I was mad at God and didn’t want to talk to Him, I knew He was there. And He was…listening…patiently waiting.

I have since found out that this is probably the most common way God speaks to us, even though we may not be aware of it. Of course, He can speak to us through the Bible, hearing a message, but He also wants to speak to us personally…if we will just learn how to listen. And He almost always sounds like our inner voice. There are various ways we can distinguish our thoughts from God’s voice to verify it’s Him, but the point here is that He is speaking.

This first encounter was 36 years ago. Since then, God has confirmed Himself to me too many times to count. And I think this is important for us who believe because there are lots of other voices trying to tell us that our faith in this invisible God is a waste of time, and that He’s not real. But, as Bill Johnson put it, “A man who has an encounter is never at the mercy of a man with an argument.”

I was thinking about this as I watched Dr. Jim Wilder‘s testimony (see video clip below). Dr. Wilder was trained in clinical psychology and specializes in brain science. He’s also a theologian (who calls himself a “Neurotheologian”) and co-author of “Rare Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits For Increasing Trust, Joy, and Engagement in the People You Lead,” which is a book I highly recommend, by the way. He shares a similar experience on the video that helped him resolve his doubts about God when he was a young adult in college. He also shares some other interesting insights near the end of the video. I think you’ll find the whole thing well worth watching.

Beloved, God is always speaking to you. And He will show you this if you will but open your heart to it and ask.